Lucy A. Snyder
Author of Sister, Maiden, Monster
About the Author
Image credit: Courtesy Ellen Datlow
Series
Works by Lucy A. Snyder
Shooting Yourself in the Head for Fun and Profit: A Writer's Survival Guide (2014) 7 copies, 1 review
That Which Does Not Kill You 3 copies
Graveyard Shift 2 copies
In the Shadow of the Fryolator 2 copies
A Preference for Silence 2 copies
However… [short fiction] 2 copies
Associated Works
Mister October: An Anthology in Memory of Rick Hautala (Volume 2) (2013) — Contributor — 62 copies, 18 reviews
Further Adventures of Xena: Warrior Princess (Xena: Warrior Princess (Berkley)) (2001) — Contributor — 55 copies, 1 review
Shadows Over Main Street: An Anthology of Small-Town Lovecraftian Terror (2015) — Contributor — 51 copies
Ride the Star Wind: Cthulhu, Space Opera, and the Cosmic Weird (2017) — Contributor — 25 copies, 1 review
Mister October: An Anthology in Memory of Rick Hautala (Volumes 1 and 2) (2013) — Contributor — 17 copies, 15 reviews
Piercing the Darkness Anthology: A Charity Anthology for the Children’s Literacy Initiative (2014) — Contributor — 7 copies
Dark Fantasies. Antología de fantasía oscura, terror y horror internacional (Nova Fantástica #5) (2017) — Contributor — 3 copies, 1 review
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 7 — Contributor — 2 copies
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 8 — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1971
- Gender
- female
- Education
- B.S. in Biology
M.A. in Journalism
Indiana University - Organizations
- Ohio State University
Seton Hill University - Awards and honors
- black quill award
- Agent
- Robert Fleck
- Relationships
- Braunbeck, Gary A. (husband)
- Short biography
- Lucy A. Snyder is the author of the fiction/poetry collection Sparks and Shadows and the humor collection Installing Linux on a Dead Badger. Her writing has appeared in a wide variety of print and electronic publications, including Strange Horizons, Farthing, Weird Tales, Full Unit Hookup, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Chiaroscuro, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, and Doctor Who Short Trips: Destination Prague.
Born in South Carolina, Lucy grew up in Texas and moved to Bloomington, Indiana for college. She has a BS in biology and an MA in journalism and has worked as a computer systems specialist, science writer, researcher, software reviewer, radio news editor, and bassoon instructor. In her past life as a magazine editor, she published Dark Planet and edited for Strange Horizons and HMS Beagle. She currently produces a column for Horror World on science and technology for writers.
Lucy is a graduate of the 1995 Clarion Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers' Workshop; her classmates included authors Kelly Link and Nalo Hopkinson. She later co-founded the Writeshop writers' workshop in Worthington, Ohio, where she currently lives with her husband and occasional co-author Gary A. Braunbeck. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Charleston, South Carolina, USA
- Places of residence
- Worthington, Ohio, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
Thoughts: This was an incredibly weird and demented collection of three interconnected novellas that I ended up really enjoying. Snyder always comes up with some crazy stuff and doesn't shy away from the gory details. I really enjoyed her Jessie Shimmer series and continue to enjoy her writing here as well.
The synopsis does a decent job describing the plot, so I won't reiterate it here. This is pretty much an apocalyptic set of stories where a strange virus starts to manifest in people in show more different ways.
This is viciously twisted and gory, and at times you will think, "Did I really just read that?" It is also incredibly creative and intriguing since Snyder delves into depths of depravity that most authors wouldn't be comfortable delving in to. I love it for its uniqueness and just how much fun it ends up being to read.
The characters here are easy to engage with and come across as intelligent and introspective in their own ways, even when they are vicious and amoral. There is plenty of action and suspense, as you sit back and wonder how everything will play out. The ending is open-ended but I thought it fit the story tone well. Most endings to an apocalyptic tale like this are a bit open-ended.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this and was so happy to see Snyder back to writing full-length books (even if it is more of a novella series in one novel). The weirdness and creativity here is awesome, but stomach turning at times. This is not a book for the faint of heart, but if you are a fan of Snyder you already know that. She does not turn away from gore or uncomfortable strangeness. I loved this and am excited to see what she writes next! show less
The synopsis does a decent job describing the plot, so I won't reiterate it here. This is pretty much an apocalyptic set of stories where a strange virus starts to manifest in people in show more different ways.
This is viciously twisted and gory, and at times you will think, "Did I really just read that?" It is also incredibly creative and intriguing since Snyder delves into depths of depravity that most authors wouldn't be comfortable delving in to. I love it for its uniqueness and just how much fun it ends up being to read.
The characters here are easy to engage with and come across as intelligent and introspective in their own ways, even when they are vicious and amoral. There is plenty of action and suspense, as you sit back and wonder how everything will play out. The ending is open-ended but I thought it fit the story tone well. Most endings to an apocalyptic tale like this are a bit open-ended.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this and was so happy to see Snyder back to writing full-length books (even if it is more of a novella series in one novel). The weirdness and creativity here is awesome, but stomach turning at times. This is not a book for the faint of heart, but if you are a fan of Snyder you already know that. She does not turn away from gore or uncomfortable strangeness. I loved this and am excited to see what she writes next! show less
Although I strongly recommend skipping the introduction--which seems to undertake a mission of ruining the surprise of half the poems to be discovered in this lovely collection--I really enjoyed this work and am anxious to read more by Snyder.
Although I expected horror poetry--and there's definitely an element of that here in language, themes, and sometimes the subjects--the focus here is more on social commentary and social justice. Some of the poems with directly feminist directions left show more me breathless, as did a few of the poems about relationships. The poems are strongest where Snyder's voice is unapologetically critical and biting or introspective, and a bit less engrossing where there's a sort of ironic adoption of a less-critical voice (or, certainly, the poem that stood out to me as being the weakest and least interesting in the collection took this approach). On the whole, though, there are so many lines here which are worth revisiting, as well as some poems as a whole that I imagine I'll come back to, that I absolutely recommend it. show less
Although I expected horror poetry--and there's definitely an element of that here in language, themes, and sometimes the subjects--the focus here is more on social commentary and social justice. Some of the poems with directly feminist directions left show more me breathless, as did a few of the poems about relationships. The poems are strongest where Snyder's voice is unapologetically critical and biting or introspective, and a bit less engrossing where there's a sort of ironic adoption of a less-critical voice (or, certainly, the poem that stood out to me as being the weakest and least interesting in the collection took this approach). On the whole, though, there are so many lines here which are worth revisiting, as well as some poems as a whole that I imagine I'll come back to, that I absolutely recommend it. show less
Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder is one of those stories that continues to haunt me. It was so dark and insane that I frequently had to stop reading to process what I had just read. Yet, as uncomfortable as it made me at times, I liked this creepy story about a virus, a pandemic, and the fate of humankind.
Sister, Maiden, Monster is one grotesque story. Within the first chapter, upon Erin getting sick, Ms. Snyder does not let a scene pass without bringing forth some of the most show more gruesome body horrors I think I have ever read. Throughout the story, you experience cannibalism, blood lust, vicious killings for pleasure, growths that erupt, and the most eldritch of human evolution. Not for the squeamish or faint of heart, there should be all manner of trigger warnings on the cover of this book. However, since it firmly falls into the horror category, that is its warning.
To describe the plot of Sister, Maiden, Monster is almost an effort in futility. Not only would doing so spoil the suspense, but the story is also batshit crazy. I mean that most endearingly because I enjoyed the crazy. Crazy does make for a good story, albeit weird, but there is something fun in the weirdness.
As for the three main characters, they are easy to like. Ms. Snyder introduces us to each one in record time in a way that makes it easy to understand who they are and their motivations. As Erin is the first one we meet and watch her maneuver the beginnings of the pandemic through to the end, we know her the most. Even Savannah, with her lust for killing, has redeeming qualities. The three women’s fates are the story’s driving force, and they make quite an unusual trio.
Based on the synopsis, I thought I would be reading another horror story involving a pandemic. Sure, certain phrases made me understand that Sister, Maiden, Monster would not follow in the same vein as Stephen King’s version or Chuck Wayward’s. I don’t think I was prepared for just how different it was. This is one horror story that did horrify me. As a bonus, I will never look at people eating sushi in quite the same way again. Kudos to Ms. Snyder for creating a bizarre and gory story that terrified me, grossed me out, and kept me entertained. show less
Sister, Maiden, Monster is one grotesque story. Within the first chapter, upon Erin getting sick, Ms. Snyder does not let a scene pass without bringing forth some of the most show more gruesome body horrors I think I have ever read. Throughout the story, you experience cannibalism, blood lust, vicious killings for pleasure, growths that erupt, and the most eldritch of human evolution. Not for the squeamish or faint of heart, there should be all manner of trigger warnings on the cover of this book. However, since it firmly falls into the horror category, that is its warning.
To describe the plot of Sister, Maiden, Monster is almost an effort in futility. Not only would doing so spoil the suspense, but the story is also batshit crazy. I mean that most endearingly because I enjoyed the crazy. Crazy does make for a good story, albeit weird, but there is something fun in the weirdness.
As for the three main characters, they are easy to like. Ms. Snyder introduces us to each one in record time in a way that makes it easy to understand who they are and their motivations. As Erin is the first one we meet and watch her maneuver the beginnings of the pandemic through to the end, we know her the most. Even Savannah, with her lust for killing, has redeeming qualities. The three women’s fates are the story’s driving force, and they make quite an unusual trio.
Based on the synopsis, I thought I would be reading another horror story involving a pandemic. Sure, certain phrases made me understand that Sister, Maiden, Monster would not follow in the same vein as Stephen King’s version or Chuck Wayward’s. I don’t think I was prepared for just how different it was. This is one horror story that did horrify me. As a bonus, I will never look at people eating sushi in quite the same way again. Kudos to Ms. Snyder for creating a bizarre and gory story that terrified me, grossed me out, and kept me entertained. show less
This was an amazing read. It weaves current world events and issues seamlessly into a near future hellscape riddled with a polymorphic virus ready to take over the world. The three female MC's stories interconnected beautifully, while having vastly different experiences, exploring cosmic and body horror to its fullest, with a dash of seggsy times. I'm recommending this to so many of my friends that want to get into cosmic and body horror, because while disgusting and gory at times, the show more writing and experiences are breathtaking. I loved how the author addressed so many real world issues into this with such grace but with fire behind it. Amazing work! show less
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- Rating
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